OWAIN TUDUR JONES insists Hibs can take heart from his old club Norwich as they bid to bounce back from the embarrassment of shipping seven goals.

The midfielder copped a 7-1 beating from Colchester on his Canaries debut back in 2009 as the Carrow Road club slumped to a new low.

Furious fans invaded the pitch to confront boss Bryan Gunn after their League One campaign got off to the worst possible start following relegation.

But the shell-shocked Norwich players had the last laugh on the irate punters as they recovered from that mauling to romp to the top flight within two years under new gaffer Paul Lambert.

Now Tudur Jones is hoping the Hibees can respond in similar fashion after their 7-0 hiding by Malmo in the second leg of their Europa League qualifier.

That sealed a 9-0 aggregate loss, making it the heaviest defeat for any Scottish club in Europe.

But the midfielder hopes today’s league opener against Motherwell is the first step on a road to redemption.

The summer signing from Inverness said: “That Norwich game is always going to be in the memory bank. So as far as debuts go, it could have gone better.

“There was a rivalry with Colchester at the time because, distance wise, there was nobody closer to Norwich.

“There were a few bad incidents. Some fans got on to the pitch and threw their season tickets at the manager. But the joke was on them at the end of the campaign.

“I doubt they would have got back so they missed that success then probably the following year too, winning promotion to the Premier League.

“So they have a bit of egg on their faces but emotions do run high when things like that happen and all you can do is move on.

“It’s important things like that hurt because you can use it to push forward.

“Look at the success Norwich had that season as they went on to win the league comfortably. So it proves you can recover.

“Any fan would say getting relegated to League One in the first place was rock bottom for Norwich.

“The Colchester game would then have been more of an eye-opener to where the club was. Things needed to change and they did. The players really got together and made sure they weren’t in that position for too long.

“It is something I’ve mentioned to a few of the Hibs boys and they all now have their own version of that story for motivation.”

Norwich’s remarkable recovery was sparked by a change of manager with Lambert – the man who had masterminded Colchester’s rout – replacing Gunn.

But Tudur Jones is adamant Hibs gaffer Pat Fenlon deserves time to turn it around.

The 28-year-old said: “It’s different because it is not as if this happened in a league game.

“We came up against a good European side who were ahead of us in terms of preparation.

“The gaffer and Jimmy Nicholl are working well together and I’m looking forward to playing under them this season.”